The present invention relates to a method of separating nested trays of containers from a stack thereof, and an apparatus for carrying out the method.
Plastic containers, such as those made by injection molding high density polyethylene, are widely used for a variety of purposes, such as for holding plant cuttings and seedlings, packing berries, etc. A typical such array of containers is shown in FIG. 1 and consists of a plurality of containers joined together at their upper edges to form a tray of containers. Such trays are stacked together with the exterior of the containers of an upper tray nesting inside the containers in the tray immediately below, as seen in FIG. 2. During shipping the nested containers tend to become tightly compacted. The nursery man or berry packer must separate or “de-nest” the individual trays for use, which currently is done manually. Since the containers have thin walls, it is easy for the person attempting to separate the trays to damage some of them. Typically up to 25% of the trays are damaged during separation. The damaged trays must be discarded, leading to a large amount of wastage.